After months of uncertainty and weeks of negotiations, California lawmakers worked through Thursday night and all day Friday to approve a deal aimed at closing the state’s $26.3 billion budget deficit.

Following the nearly 24-hour-long session, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signaled that he plans to approve the revisions, putting an end – at least for now – to the state’s budget bickering.

“Hopefully we will sign the budget in the next two or three days,” said Schwarzenegger, who called the budget revisions “acceptable.”

Legislators approved cutting about $15.5 billion in spending from the 2009-10 budget, making large cuts to the state’s education, health and social services systems.

The revisions do not raise taxes – a provision Republicans demanded – but does not, as Schwarzenegger had proposed, eliminate welfare, health care and other programs that Democrats refused to axe. It also calls for borrowing money from local governments.

“It’s not the perfect budget,” said Assemblywoman Wilmer Amina Carter, D-Rialto, said Friday afternoon – about 36 hours after she last slept. “It’s something no one likes. We don’t like it, but it’s the best we could do at this particular time.”

Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders reached an agreement on the budget Monday, and the bills passed Thursday and Friday remained largely true to that plan.

But lawmakers in the Assembly blocked a few provisions of the plan, including a deal that would have allowed a new oil operation off the Santa Barbara County coast and a plan to take transportation funding from local governments.

That leaves the budget still in deficit, but Sen. Bob Huff said Schwarzenegger will use his executive authority to make further cuts.

Huff said the state Assembly’s refusal to approve the oil-drilling arrangement, called the Tranquillon Ridge project, was “short-sighted.”

“I know (oil drilling) is an emotional issue, but at this point, cutting more of our social safety net or cutting schools, those are emotional issues too,” he said.

But Huff said the deal, overall, is good for the state.

“We were able to resolve a $25 billion deficit without raising taxes,” he said.